1989
Events As of 1989, only 60 of the 360 convicted defendants from the 1986 Maxi Trial in Sicily remain imprisoned. Thomas Spinelli a soldier in the Gambino Crime Family is murdered by James Failla on the orders of Salvatore Gravano because Spinelli had recently testified before a grand jury and was due to appear again.he was murdered to prevent him from providing further testimony and ratting out the family. January 23,John Gotti was arrested outside the Ravenite and charged with ordering the 1986 assault of union official John O'Connor. Gotti got released on bail for $100,000. February - U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, recently appointed by President Ronald Reagan, officially merges the regional organized crime strike forces the office of the U.S. Attorney General. February 28, DEA agent Everett Hatcher is found murdered in his Buick Regal on a remote overpass on the West Shore Expressway Rossville, Staten Island. he was shot 3 times by Bonnano Crime Family Associate Costabile Farace in an ambush during a cocaine deal. May 2, Gerald Scarpelli, a former Chicago hitman turned FBI informant, commits suicide while held in the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center. May 2, Russian mobster Michael Markowitz who operated a gasoline bootlegging business under the auspices of Colombo Family caporegime Michael Franzese was shot to death while driving his Rolls-Royce in Brooklyn. After being convicted of taking part in the illegal business Markowitz became a government witness against Franzese and testified as to the roles of the Genovese and Lucchese Families in the lucrative business. June 6, Anonymous letters signed by “il corvo” (literally “crow”, but meaning “provocateur”) begin to circulate accusing Giovanni Falcone and police inspector Gianni De Gennaro of sending Contorno to Sicily to start a state sponsored vendetta against the Corleonesi. June 17, The body of William P. Grasso, former Underboss to the Patriarca crime family, is found after being dumped in the Connecticut River. June 20, A powerful bomb is discovered outside the summerhouse of Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone in Addaura as Falcone confers with Swiss magistraters Carla Del Ponte and Claudio Lehman about money laundering by Cosa Nostra in Switzerland. August 9 - Richard Costello, President of the International Longshoresman's Union Association Local 1964 and longtime associate of Gambino crime family leaders Thomas Gambino and Paul Castellano, is killed. Sept. 11, Staten Island real estate developer Fred Weiss is gunned down as he enters his vehicle in front of his New Springville home on Wellington Court. October 8, Francesco Marino Mannoia starts to collaborate with Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone. October 31, Halloween - Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. is attacked and almost killed at Dante and Luigi's, an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. November 17, Costabile Farace a Bonanno crime family associate is murdered by members of the bonanno crime family because his murder DEA Agent Everett Hatcher brought heat on the family. Farace was found at 11:08 p.m. on November 17, 1989, in his parked car at 1814 81st Street in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. The car contained one male occupant, with another male laying face down on the sidewalk, both of whom had just been shot (the call came in as "shots fired", no other specifics). November 30, the FBI plant a bug in the apartment above the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, the evidence recorded over the next two months helps arrest John Gotti and most of the top figures in the Gambino Crime Family in the following year. December 5, Angelo Ruggiero, Gambino crime family Capo and heroin dealer, dies of cancer. His Boss and best friend John Gotti doesn't visit him before he dies, reportedly still harbouring ill feelings towards Ruggiero for the trouble he caused when his house was bugged. Arts and literature A Better Tomorrow III (film) Billy Bathgate (novel) The Killer (film) starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. Mob War (film) starring Jake LaMotta. Births Deaths Anthony Loria Sr., Luchesse crime family member, participant in the French Connection drug smuggling case Thomas Spinelli, Gambino crime family soldier. May 2 - Gerald Scarpelli, Chicago Outfit member and FBI informant June 17 - William P. Grasso, former Underboss to the Patriarca crime family. August 9 - Richard Costello, President of the International Longshoresman's Union Association Local 1964 November 17 - Costabile Farace, Bonanno crime family associate. December 5 - Angelo Ruggiero, Gambino crime family Capo. Category:Years